Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for Johannesburg to participate in the 15th BRICS Summit on August 22, Tuesday in the morning. He held a bilateral meeting with South African President Matemela Cyril Ramaphosa on August 23, Wednesday.
Prime Minister Modi was expected to hold bilateral meetings with President Ramaphosa and some other leaders taking part in the BRICS Summit according to his departure statement ahead of visiting South Africa.
President Ramaphosa was congratulated by Prime Minister Modi for thrivingly hosting the 15th BRICS summit. He expressed his full cooperation and support for India’s G20 presidency. India gave the African Union full membership of G20. This initiative was highly appreciated by President Ramaphosa. He revealed that he is looking forward to visiting New Delhi for the G20 Summit.
Both the leaders discussed and assessed the advancement made in the bilateral relations between India and South Africa. They evaluated the development made in various fields such as defense, agriculture, trade, investment, health, environment, people to people ties and conservation.
They shared thoughts on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and it was established that there will be continued coordination in multilateral bodies.
President Ramaphosa invited Prime Minister Modi to pay a State visit to South Africa at a mutually convenient date, which he graciously accepted.
Prime Minister Modi said that he had an excellent meeting with the South African President in his X (formerly twitter) post.
He added that they discussed a wide range of issues prominently trade, defense and investment linkages. Both the leaders will be aiming at strengthening and deepening India- South Africa relations.
He also wrote that both the nations will keep working together to empower the voice of the Global South as well. Brazil, India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria and Mexico are the largest Southern nations in terms of land area and population which are viewed as the ‘Global South’.
According to PM Modi BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. He said this meeting will be beneficial for the member nations to identify areas of further cooperation and review institutional development.
PM Modi’s further plans
On August 25 PM Modi will be leaving for Athens, Greece, subsequent to the BRICS Summit in South Africa. He has been invited by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be his first visit to Athens in his 10-year term also making him the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece in 40 years.
All you need to know about this years summit
This year’s BRICS under the presidency of South Africa is based on the theme, “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism”
After three consecutive years of virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the first in-person BRICS Summit.
BRICS comprises of five nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This will be PM Modi’s third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.
A special event with the theme “Brics – Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue” is organised after the summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa.
PM Modi’s respect for the National flag
A video has been trending on social media which shows South African President acknowledging Prime Minister Modi’s gesture of picking up the Tricolour which was kept on floor to mark his spot at the BRICS Summit. PM Modi picked up the flag and kept it in his pocket. The South African President who accidently stepped on his own flag earlier, follows PM Modi’s lead.
